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Bauer is getting ready to unleash, yet again one of the most highly anticipate hockey sticks of the year. The Bauer Vapor APX Hockey Sticks will be available 9/06/11 for pre-sale and have estimated in store delivery of 10/06/11.

Bauer Vapor APX Hockey Stick

The Bauer Vapor APX hockey stick picks up where the X60 stick left off, and takes the Bauer Vapor stick line into a whole new stratosphere. So to start it off let’s go over what Bauer has kept the same on the APX as the X60 stick, both sticks feature: the high-grade TeXtreme carbon fiber, monocomp design (true one-piece construction), Intelli-sense shot technology (flex profile), Micro Feel II shaft dimensions (slightly smaller and rounded shaft dimensions). The picture below graphically shows the softer and stiffer portions of the stick. The yellow areas are softer and the red areas are stiffer. So from this picture you can see the APX stick will have the same low kick shot release as the X60.

Bauer APX hockey stick

One of the areas where Bauer wanted to improve on was the blade core and puck feel of the X60 stick. Bauer felt they had really nailed the ideal puck feel with the TotalOne sticks and wanted to duplicate it in the Vapor stick line, although they ran into a problem. Since the Vapor line has the lower kick point the heavier blade core was making the blade deflect too much which they did not want. So to get around this they used the heavier dense Power Core III material on the lower portion of the blade where the puck has contact. Then on the upper half Bauer utilized the Aero Foam II which is a much lighter material. This way they were able to decrease the overall blade weight while, capturing the same puck feel as that the TotalOne sticks have, and eliminating the blade deflection.

Bauer Vapor APX grip hockey stick

The other feature that really sets the APX stick apart from others is a new resin they are using. According to Bauer the new resin helps extend the life span of the stick in a few ways. First, this resin is suppose to help the stick maintain its pop throughout the sticks life. In my trip to Bauer’s head quarters in New Hampshire they mentioned that one complaint on the one95 stick was that it lost its pop after a while, and they wanted to address this issue. In Bauer’s lab testing the APX with the new resin has far surpassed any other stick they have ever made. Another way this resin really helps is in the sticks overall durability. Often a player with take a slash or block a shot with their stick during play and it will not break the stick but it will cause a very small fracture in the stick. Over time this crack will spread much like a crack on car’s windshield. Till one day that play takes that “magical” shot that just destroys the stick and it breaks. The new resin on the Vapor APX stick helps prevent those small crack from growing and spreading over time. According to Bauer the Vapor APX stick will be the most durable top of the line stick they have. So what’s the catch right? Well that’s its…there is no catch, the new resin is not suppose to add any weight or have any other notice attribute to the sticks feel or play.